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NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: BRUINS v BLACKHAWKSJune 23, 2013Patrick KanePatrick SharpBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. This is for either or both of you. If we don't know what's going on with Jonathan yet, if he's not in, how do you guys have to adjust? UNIDENTIFIED PLAYER: That's a good question. I think you look at the situation we're in, we're this close to reaching our goal. Obviously we want Johnny to play, but if he's not, we have to find a way to get it done either way. Q. You guys have been down this road before, Game 6 in Philly. I know you don't want to live in the past too much because your team has changed a lot, but you did go into a Game 6 and end it. How important is that experience? PATRICK SHARP: You know, it's a similar feeling, especially having the series tied 2‑2, taking Game 5 at home and coming on the road for Game 6. You've got to be careful, you seen a couple years ago Boston was down 3‑2, they won at home and then won Game 7 in Vancouver. We know this team is capable of coming back. For us I know it's a big game, but you want to play it like it's any other game, play the way we have all season, and try to pull one out here on the road. Q. To the Patrick who just spoke, can you compare the depth that you guys had in 2010 to the depth that you have now, and are you surprised that it came along as quick as it did after all those guys left, or did it take too long almost to develop it again? PATRICK SHARP: Um, yeah, it's similar. I mean, there's definitely a lot of depth, and that's probably our greatest asset on this team. I think back in 2010 you had some guys who were probably unknown names that made names for themselves throughout that year and in the Playoffs, and you're seeing that happen again this year. But I think it's a credit to the management and the coaching staff and obviously drafting well and developing those players to come along. For us to be in this situation again three years down the road, especially after the breakup we had from that 2010 team, losing 10, 11 guys, whatever it is, I think it's a great success. Q. This is for you, Patrick Sharp: The hit on Jonathan Toews by Johnny Boychuk, your thoughts on it. Was it clean, was it dirty, or do you think there's a little more nastiness creeping into this series, you personally with Johnny Boychuk, a couple tussles? PATRICK SHARP: It seemed to get messed up against Boychuk quite a bit in this series. He's taken some runs at me. I can't really complain how he's hit me. He plays the game hard, he's pretty honest. I think every series we've been a part of things get a little bit more intense as they go along, a lot more trashing talking, physical play on both sides, as far as the hit on Johnny, there's on ice officials, there's people watching in the stands, and the NHL is reviewing all those hits, so I'll let them make their decision. Q. Is that matter done, like closed as far as you're concerned? PATRICK SHARP: Yeah, I guess it is. If they said it was done, then it's over with. Johnny didn't play the third period, and it was a tough loss for us. But as a team I mentioned earlier, we're in a situation where we're this close. Kaner mentioned our depth. It's the reason we've had success all season. We can't dwell on the fact that we have one of our players missing. Q. Patrick Kane, two years ago you guys made a conscious decision to attack Zdeno Chara. What did you see that made you think you could have success doing that? PATRICK KANE: You know, I don't think there was one thing said where we really wanted to attack him or go at him or try to hit him or anything like that. I think we're just playing the way we have. Sometimes you worry about one player who you're matched up against on the ice, and I've said this before, it goes to your disadvantage because you worry too much and don't play the game you should be player. I think we just got back to playing the way we have and the way we know how to, especially with our team's speed, and just trying to play that way against maybe a bigger, physical Boston team. Q. To both Patricks, how much satisfaction did you take out of clinching in Philadelphia in 2010 on the road in front of enemy fans? Have you thought about that possibility tomorrow that you can do that same thing, and would it be extra special to do it on the road? PATRICK KANE: I think looking back to 2010, we were just satisfied being in that position. I don't think we really cared if it was in any building in the league, our own building. It was something that was all new to us. We were kind of living and dying on every play. We were excited to be there. I can say the same about this year. It's a heck of an opportunity we have tomorrow night. You've got to look at the team we're playing against. They've been in much worse situations than this and have been able to rally back and fight for their lives. To think that we're looking ahead and planning on winning another Stanley Cup, that couldn't be further from the truth. We know what kind of challenge we have tomorrow. Q. For both Patricks, does this off day feel like the longest one so far? How much do you guys just want to get back out there and get a chance to close the series out when you're this close? PATRICK SHARP: Yeah, I mean, I think the two days off in between sometimes get to you because you want to play pretty quick after a game, especially when you have momentum. But I think it worked out perfect the way the scheduling is. I think especially this time of year with injuries and bumps and bruises, you want to rest up for that day and make sure you're getting ready for the next game. Q. Patrick Kane, do you allow yourselves to envision doing it again in Game 6 on the road? PATRICK KANE: You know, we were just kind of talking about that. I don't know, I think the stars would have to be aligned right for it to happen like that again. I think the biggest thing is trying to help contribute anyway I can, help this team get a win, especially the situation we're in. You want to take advantage of it in the next game. We have a great opportunity. I'll do whatever I can to help the team win, and it would be a great feeling? Q. Patrick Sharp, are the Bruins a tougher team physically than what you guys faced in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010 against Philadelphia? PATRICK SHARP: It's tough to kind of compare the two. It was so long ago, 2010. We've had a lot of Playoff series in between. But I can credit the Bruins. They're a lot quicker than I thought they were. And about their size, their strength, their physical play, how well they protect the net and make it tough to get there, but they can skate, too. There's been a lot of talk about us playing this high scoring attack offensive types of games, but keep in mind they can do it, as well. It's tough to compare the two series, but we've got a lot of respect for both teams. Q. Patrick Sharp, do you see any similarities, if any, between Toews and Bergeron, and if so, can you replace collectively what they both bring? PATRICK SHARP: Both great players. I think any coach in the league, any player in the league would like to have those guys on their team. They take pride in taking face‑offs playing well away from the puck, making their line mates better, both big parts of the locker room. I can't speak for what Boston is dealing with with Bergeron. I know I don't need to say much about Jonathan. I think everyone knows what we think of him in our locker room. Hopefully we can have him back for tomorrow. Q.  Because so much of this team has turned over from last time, what could you not know or didn't you know until you got deep into a playoff run about this group, and what have you found out about this group to this point? PATRICK SHARP: You know, I think we're a pretty resilient group. We were in a tough situation in Detroit being down 3‑1. Even games throughout the regular season there would be times that we were down in a game and find ways to get back into that game and end up winning a lot of them. I think that's the one thing you start to understand about this group, and I think it's pretty much the same group as last year with maybe a couple differences. You know, we wanted to prove ourselves all year, especially to maybe our own organization that kept us together, that we're here, we can do some special things. We're one win away from that, and hopefully we can do it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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